I was thinking of teaching my little 11.3hh pony patch how to do tricks.

Any tricks at all that you guys know how to teach I would love to know.
Even rearing or anything and I know its dangerous the only reason I would teach it to him is because he isnt really going to be ridden anymore because I am to big for him and loaning him out hasnt really worked out so whatever tricks anyone knows how to teach just tell me cos I really want to to this with patch.

Well... I taught mine to bow, lay down, and stand their front legs on a wooden block. A few can whinny on cue, but that only works if you have one that is naturally pretty talkative, haha. A few will "smile", which is them putting their upper lip up. I've taught my ranch mare to push open metal gates once I unlatch them. I just reach down and take the chain off, and then sometimes I push. If it comes back, or if I don't push it, she just pushes her nose against it until it stays open. One will play with a ball, but I didn't really teach him that trick, he just loves to chase it lol. Oh, and they all will put their heads down on cue. I don't know how to teach rearing though. not really something I want my riding horses to know haha. If you're not riding him, though, it would probably be fine to teach. Just tell me which one you want to know about, and I can tell ya. Lol, I just didn't want to have to describe them ALL right now. =)

To rein a horse is not only to guide him,
but also to control his every movement.

I have taught my mare to bow, Spanish walk (from the ground -- I decided that this month's plan, after years of only having it has a me-on-the-ground-waving-whip at her legs cue, was to finally stop being lazy and teach it from the saddle), park out, lower her head on command, ground tie, open gates, step onto a mounting block (or whatever), and push around a giant exercise ball. Can give instructions for any of them, although several such as the gates and the ball just happened as a result of me riding her up to the thing and putting leg on her. She's a smart girl and figured out on her own that if I was riding her into an object and continuing to put pressure on her, I must want her to push the object. Other horses I have ridden haven't been that clever so I'd have to think more about how I'd break that one into steps.

My previous horse (Angie) I taught to pick up objects and hand them to me. Could have trained current one (Gypsum) that and then didn't. It's easy to do. If they are at all mouthy with anything, be it zippers, brushes, a feed bucket, reward them for grabbing the object with their teeth, even if they only lightly mouth it, and pair it with a command like "pick it up" or whatever. They will catch on and sometimes start holding onto an object for longer or moving it further. Only reward those "picks ups." Once they understand that and are holding it for a bit longer, start only rewarding the attempts where they lift it higher or bring it towards you. Gradually you will shape the behaviour of picking up objects and giving them to you.

I think the jambette is a nice start, do you work with a clicker?
a clicker works very easy, you click, and give your horse a sweet.
lets start the jambette:

you pick up the feet of your horse, click, put it down and give a sweet,
keep doing this till your horse think its normal.
then say a command, pick up the feet, click, feet
keep doing this to
then you say a command, wait till your horse give feet, click and give sweet.

I taught my horse Domino some tricks. Nothing as fancy as the Spanish walk, but that would have been awesome! He knows how to smile, sing, say "yes", say "no", be bashful, bow, fetch, and shake.

I use treats when I am teaching them, giving them a treat for even the slightest try. Then I gradually give them less, ask for a few attempts or tricks before giving them a treat. That way they don't get pushy about it.

Teaching them how to say "no" is probably the easiest. You will have to choose a signal so your horse will learn to do the trick when he sees you doing the sign. For example, I would place my hands in front of me to signal "no", and my arms down for "yes". (This also works well when you are showing people your horse's tricks, because they rarely notice your movements). Using voice commands are useful also. What you will be doing is taking something and lightly poking or tickling the horse's withers with it. What to use really differs with each horse, some horses you can use your fingernail, and they will shake their head. Others you might have to get something pointer, just make sure it is blunt and can't hurt the horse. When the horse shakes his head, immediately give him a treat. and repeat.

For "yes", take a treat and get the horse's attention. Now that he is interested, move the treat up and down slowly, trying to get him to "follow" the treat. Make sure you are showing him his cue while you are teaching him. After a few tries, just show him the cue and see what he does. If he moves his head up and down even slightly, give him a treat. Before you know it, your horse will be nodding "yes" like crazy.

"smile" is pretty easy. You can either get something that smells "funny" to a horse and put it on their lip, and when they "smile" rewards them. The only thing about that is they only do it a few times. But you can also just take a treat and hold it above the lip. Some horses will raise their lip and try to get it just like that. Others will probably raise their head and try to reach it, but their neck can only stretch so far. After that, they will try to grab it with their lip. Remember, reward the slightest try.

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